Soldiers from the Bermuda Regiment have broken a record set by the Royal Marines.The new record was set by the Regiment’s 1 Platoon, under the command of Lieutenant Paolo Odoli, during annual overseas training in the US.The 165 troops are being put through their paces at the US Marine Corps’ Camp Lejeune. They were taken from Bermuda on Saturday on a chartered flight, to spend two gruelling weeks at the North Carolina base.The milestone event came during Sunday night’s infiltration course through a simulated battlefield environment. Negotiating the 420m course, soldiers were timed as they crawled, jumped and waded through mud and water, over walls and under razor wire.The previous record was set a decade ago by a detachment of Royal Marines.Called ‘Bermuda Marines’ by US troops at Camp Lejeune, the Regiment soldiers were visited on Monday by Governor Sir Richard Gozney, and Colonel of the Regiment Eugene Raynor.Commanding Officer Lt Col Brian Gonsalves praised the training team for a “sterling job”.“The soldiers’ skills have noticeably improved,” he said. “I have also observed that the soldiers have really stepped up to the challenge and are taking advantage of this superb opportunity. Their behaviour has also been praiseworthy. I feel that our troops have been operating as more than individuals, looking out for each other and demonstrating a justified sense of pride in themselves and each other.”On Wednesday, the troops began a four-day field training exercise, dubbed ‘Bermuda Warrior’, to secure a town simulated as overrun by an armed gang.A helicopter dropped the Bermudian soldiers at their forward operating base in the fictitious ‘Jackson Key’. The troops have been patrolling around the clock and in near-freezing night temperatures, keeping order and detaining suspects in the mock city of ‘Combat’.Useful web links: www.bermudaregiment.bm, www.lejeune.usmc.mil.